Picture Frames
by Leaf Silicon
Summary: Growing up their relationship was fine, but now two of the Sinnoh Trio are married, and Pearl is trying to cope with the swirl of emotions he keeps hidden inside. Deciding to give them space for the time being he leaves them be. Why? Because he accepts that change is inevitable and does his best not to waver to move on. 1st chapter: Commonershipping and one-sided Haughtyshipping.


**Author's Note**:** I don't own Pokespe. I would like to but it is owned by the Pokemon Corporation. *shrugs* I just own the plot for this fanfic.**

**_This_ chapter contains: Entourageshipping, okay more precisely Commonershipping and one-sided Haughtyshipping.**

**WARNING: This story may give out obvious hints of depression, if you're uncomfortable or don't like that kind of theme then don't read, no one is forcing you to. Also p****lease note that the characters may seem a little OOC because this is more than ten years after the Platinum Chapter is finished so please bear with me.**

**I hope you enjoy reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: ****_How a Third Wheel Rolls._**

Twinleaf's winds were harsh when winter was around the corner. Even without the need to, a certain blond donned his birthday gift, a coat of dark green, with a great number of unnecessary buttons that he found a tad bit annoying.

Well, it was a good reminder of who gave it to him.

"..." Exhaling a lungful of air masked his sighs. And while standing outside his home, he stared hard at the ground, the same thing he has been doing since the night before.

Unable to sleep for hours, he felt his eyelids as heavy as lead, but still he wondered, just what was wrong with him. No drop of caffeine was able to rejuvenate him at breakfast, he was almost somber it seemed...to be frank, for the first time in years, he was clueless as to what he felt. It must be quite serious, even thinking up jokes was going nowhere in his head...so he stood here, daring the winds to try and take his troubles away, but he knew it was useless, there will be no reviving his twenty-three year old self today.

"Stupid speech."

That's what was bothering him, he said as a concerned neighbor walked passed him after being asked why he seemed so down. And it was half-true, it did bother him, but there was one more thing stuck on his mind. And it was stuck there, and thinking of things to put in that speech was just starting to make him feel a bit better….

After hours of contemplating on nothing, he headed back inside, Infernape looked up and rushed over, his crown of flames somehow warming him. Chatot kept his beak shut, watching his master with worried eyes, even Luxray couldn't just lay on the rug and nudged on the man's legs to get him to move, trying to get him to sit down, but even all he did once they did was stare off into space, amber orbs devoid of life.

"Ah why am I so worried?" he muttered and cracked a smile, forcefully, half-heartedly. The guy knew that things would probably never be the same again, and that was not even his worst problem. His back straightened and he took a quick glance at the television, screen completely blank, and stared hard at the darker version of himself, face to face with a brown eyed him, hair yellowish gray and skin monochromish...finding faults in himself would do no good. Not anymore.

Leaning back, he closed his eyes, sighs refusing to form so he instead gulped them down.

Marriage, he had seen this coming; his bestfriend is the best guy any girl can have. And he was, as expected, to be the best man for the wedding. Writing up a clever and heart-warming speech was just the beginning, and he can't even be reckless or witty about it because of the guests. Ah, so that's why they were meant to be…it wasn't that the two were similar, he just didn't fit into the picture.

Everything seemed to clear up then, just as fast, clouded his vision again. He never bothered to worry about it before, but now it was starting to haunt him, and now all he wished for was to escape this reality he made for himself. Somehow he knew, oh he knew alright, it's been shoved in his face so many times now, he was supposed to be used to it:

Of how a diamond is worth more than any pearl.

* * *

They were married for more than a year now.

With smiles he answered their phone calls and wrote the couple regularly, never forgetting to keep in touch. It was beginning to feel like a routine he had to follow, but he didn't want them to worry. They would visit if they were worried.

Somehow he had gotten used to the loneliness he forced unto himself…he wanted to give the two some space. Alone time for the newlyweds, as their shared bestfriend he put it upon himself to give them all the time they wanted. The summer rain greeted him as he stepped out of the Battle Tower's entrance. He groaned and turned to go back in, annoyed how he was going to end up spending his break time in the waiting room again.

This place had become his home now, and it felt like a cage. No end to battles here and there, everyday was a repeat of itself, more battles, more challenges. His old man had it easy, he would only battle after a certain number of succeeding wins, while his son had to make sure that the challengers wouldn't be able to reach that number. Only a few had managed to beat them both.

He really didn't want to try and become the next Tycoon of the Battle Tower, but it was far from Sandgem and Twinleaf, and he kept himself busy, it was more than he could ask for. He was…happy? Content? Yes, he was content how both of his bestfriends fell in love, he guessed he just wasn't content or happy with himself. Even his team noticed it, and being Pearl, he had asked their permission every single day if they would want to train in the Tower.

Just because he was somehow depressed didn't mean he should be insensitive.

Pulling out his phone, the blond played the first song he could tap and put it on loudspeaker before grabbing one of the random magazines he found under the coffee table, most already years outdated as the Frontier Brains barely even lounged in here anymore.

Speaking of them, the loudest of the bunch just decided to barge in without knocking, seemingly surprised to see his son softly singing along to the tune.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"The weather is depressing."

Palmer shrugged and flopped down on the couch adjacent to him. "The Tower is rather quiet."

"No cheers and booing, everyone's probably stuck at the Center." absent-mindedly flipped another page, the younger male's amber gaze never left the papers as he wondered how much longer it would take until he would have the comfort of his Pokeballs back on his belt.

"Yup, doesn't mean you should be slacking off." Father and son exchanged a small chuckle before they both awkwardly grew quiet, not knowing what else to say...the two managed to catch up after years of being apart but….

"Hey, Dia just called."The sound of his partner's name was not enough to draw the younger blond's attention as he merely nodded, another page flipped as his eyes wandered to lists of popular sightseeing areas in Kalos.

"...Pearl."

"...he should learn to call directly." he sighed and tapped at the pause sign on the screen. "I thought he was supposed to be training at Mt. Coronet, when did it start having a signal there?"

"Poorly made, son. You've been losing your spark lately."

"..." It wasn't supposed to be a joke. He gently placed the magazine back with the stack before staring at the 'old man', his gaze distant as he stood up and started dialing on his phone.

A loud beep.

The familiar ringtone of a specific robot anime.

Then a cheerful call of his name.

"...yeah. Sorry...yes, next time I promise."

The chat continued. Babbling of food the receiver devoured at their mansion. Trips he had gone to. How training was going. New Pokemon he had caught and seen. And the endless mentions of quirks of a newly married couple.

The blond could sense his voice getting weak. "Ah, I'm happy to hear... STOP EATING WHILE TALKING!" he snapped then sighed, unable to keep going while in character as he walked over to a corner in the room.

"...you should come and visit more."

"In that house? I'll definitely be out of place. You know fancy houses are a bit much for me."

"...oh yeah! I forgot, Pearl you're definitely going to be washed away by what I'm gonna say!"

"Another trip?" he guessed then forced a small smile. "Or are you and Missy going to come and visit me?"

"Even better~"

"An all you can eat buffet? A Manzai tournament you plan to enter? You won at this year's festival's pie eating contest again?"

"Noooo~" Then a quick pause. "Well yes at the pie part but I can't help-"

"Missy is gonna make you run on that treadmill again if you keep that up."

"Gh...!"

"Good to see she's disciplining you in my stead." the ghost of a smile formed on his face. Still...something better than all of that? He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"...I don't get it."

"I'll give you a hint: We're expecting!"

"...wha? A package?"

"...a person going to visit?"

"Something like that..."

Amber eyes flew wide open and he felt his brain shutting down as his mouth started to move on its own:. "...a...b-ba...by."

"YES! Platinum's pregnant~!"

-!

"...that's...shocking..."

Pearl listened. Just listened as his bestfriend continued to talk on and on and on, worried how fast it had come but excited either way, how they have already picked out a room and wondering what gender it would be. All the while the only thing he could answer back was 'Hmm's and 'Oh's.

"Ah...! Can I ask you for advice on names? I know ours sound strange so I don't want him to be bullied."

The blond wasn't even opening his mouth anymore and before long the person in the other side was apparently being called out by someone, not that he was paying any more attention. A whining full of reminders for him to visit more, then a cheerful "bye!" and the beep returned, this time to haunt him.

They were having a child.

"How was it?" The remaining brain cells deciphered his father's question as fast as they could.

"Great. Everything is great." he laughed and put his phone back in his pocket but his hand kept fidgeting and it fell on the floor, making the screen crack. He cursed loudly.

"Pearl!"

"I'M FINE!" He didn't mean to yell and he knelt down in order to see the extent of the damage, it looked as if a bullet had hit it and not gone through. "….just a small crack."

"….and the call?" Palmer stayed where he was, careful to give him space.

"...I should visit them soon it seems." He smiled as he turned, facade returning as his hands curled into fists, now hidden in the interior of his pants pockets. "They have a new reason to celebrate. So I should better go train after this. More battles won, more bragging rights after all. I don't want to fall behind on the good news." Steps quick and strides long, he made his way out of the room before he could be called back. To him, the calling of his names were now just imaginary echoes in his mind.

Ah...now he was lying to his dad and feeling guilty like a kid caught stealing a cookie. He really shouldn't have bothered with making stuff up at all. He knew his time at the Battle Tower was supposed to be time with his old man, but even now he felt the loneliness creeping up on him. His two bestfriends were starting a family, his own was slowly being mended after being torn apart…but...

He felt another sigh building up as he kept on walking, accelerating his speed that he was near running. Oddly as he did, his fists uncurled and his fingers searched for the familiar warmth emanating for the six spheres in his belt, as if wanting to lessen the empty feelings amassing inside of him, but they were still in the Center, and he was determined to get away from…everything else.

Funny. This was where his worries should end.

He had decided to let go, but now he was starting to get out of reach.

So so...far...so...so...isolated.

The distance between them...

...was almost reassuring now.

* * *

...he tried to call the two love birds again after that.

Again, he gave them space and felt like he seemingly disappeared from their memories because of their newfound joy. Again, he decided to drown himself in battles, day and night, challenging all the trainers that he would face in the tower and kept face when his dad was around and made himself the ideal son, ideal enough to earn a little vacation before heading to Sandgem, no 'buts' allowed. Deciding to accept things they way they are, and the old man promised he could come back soon, he simply flew back to his hometown to kill the time, back to the empty house he left for isolation.

The letters had piled up in the mailbox during the duo's absence. Sighing, he walked in the door and opened the drawers, in search for where he last put the pair of scissors. Cursing himself for not locking some of them a while back. After minutes of impatient struggling he finally found it in a cupboard, annoyed and tired he sat down and got ready to start reading.

Snip. The enveloped opened and out came the notice for them to pay their credit card bill. How trivial.

Snip. There goes a letter of invitation for his father, gone astray.

"Must've been sent by an old friend." He shrugged for the name of the sender was not familiar to him.

Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Sniiiiip.

Letter after letter. Notice after notice. None really written for him for all he cares but he still read every detail, just in case it was urgent, his frustration and patience slowly diminishing with each paper being refolded as he continued submerging himself in these kind of menial task. Soon, not as fast as he had liked, the letters were returned to their respective envelopes and carefully stacked, grouped in which needed to be taken with him once he returns to the Battle Frontier and ones that needed to be directly sent to his father. It's not like there would be someone to read them in this old house when he is gone….

The abrupt ringing of the phone made him cringe, the newly stacked pile barely managed to stay upright as he ran towards the cursed phone, still gripping the scissors in one hand which was passed to the other as he picked it up.

"Hello?" Keeping his voice down he waited for a reply.

"I heard you were home but I couldn't believe it myself."

The room suddenly grew cold as his brain took it's time processing the voice.

"Hello Little Miss." The words escaped through his mouth at last.

A giggle.

"How come you still call me that Pearl?" the voice seemed older, a bit deeper than what he was used to, this was the voice of hers he preferred.

The mechanical one. The seemingly older one. The one he wasn't used to.

"Think of it as a nickname Platinum." He struggled for a topic to prevent the conversation from becoming stale. But there was only one thing on his mind. "…..how is the baby?"

"Excited." Another set of giggles. "We don't know the gender yet but the little one is fond of kicking." Her voice seemed kinder, more lovingly then, and he couldn't help but smile and nod as he imagined her sitting on an armchair, hand over her stomach, the usual smile he was used to seeing replaced with a more gentle, motherly one….

"Ah. Impatient little kid eh?" the life slowly returned to his voice as he couldn't help but smile himself.

"Oh if you only knew." The silhouettes of a male and female child came to mind, the baby bump would definitely be noticeable by now, and that image of her, and Dia slowly feeling it made him uneasy, warm, but uneasy. He felt his feet about to give up on him.

"Hey….are you doing okay?" his voice broke.

"Yes. Quite so."

Good.

He leaned on the green wall. "I…..is Dia with you?"

"Ah." A brief pause before he heard the barest audible sigh from the other end. "He's with Father and Professor Rowan at the moment. But I'll be joining them for lunch. Silly Dia keeps saying that he has to work my shifts saying it was unfair how I still worked despite my pregnancy."

He laughed at her irritation towards their shared bestfriend. Slash her husband. Slowly Pearl slid down the wall and stretched his legs on the wooden floor, eyeing the scissors in his hand. Open, close. Open, close. Open. Close.

"Won't you come visit before you go back?"

"Definitely," The word seemed sour in his mouth as he imagined how she would smile at those words.

"Motherhoods suits you."

The silence returned as he closed his eyes, darkness enveloping his sight, wishing she would say anything, anything, everything was better than this silence that hung between them, especially now, that he was only a town apart from her.

"Do you really think so?" she seemed flustered and the answer came surprising quick on his mind, but his tongue struggled to say those simple words, so did his heart.

"I do."

Realization seemed to hit.

"Ah! I really do believe tha-"

"It's funny how Dia said the same thing."

"…..." The silence continued as he just sat there, eyes still closed, he didn't wish to open his eyes for he already felt something akin to dizziness and if that wasn't bad enough, his hands were still slowly fumbling with the scissors, the wait after her sudden reply was unbearable… until he heard her voice take on a slightly younger tone, as if she was right there now as she started to mutter….

"Pearl I-"

_SNIP._

Right eyelid opening, he looked to see the line connecting the phone to the socket was cut off, by the scissors he was playing with no less. Slowly getting up, he fumbled and clumsily tried to get back up, cursing under his breath all the while.

Why did I have to say that to her?

Unable to anymore find the strength to get up, he just continued to stare at the ceiling, unmoving, even after the sun started to set and there was only darkness shrouding the entire house. Pearl just stared at the two crossed blades, wondering just how big of an idiot is he.

* * *

They had no other way of communicating now. His phone was being repaired and his PC was starting to get old and unable to support the Internet as fast as the newer ones in order to send anyone emails. The young man spent his days alone, oh don't get him wrong, he had tried to write letters, but none of them had been able to sound anything like himself. Even in words it was nothing like Pearl. Thus, there was no human contact in his quiet house as he spent the hours doing menial tasks. But even that started to get repetitive.

Finding nothing else better to do, he then made his way to the lake in the early hours of a Thursday morning, wanting to visit an acquaintance, one that he selfishly knew would be able to see his hidden despair. Yes, he only realized what it was after he made a fool out of himself to his trusted Pokemon. And now here he was, wishing to open up to another.

"Morning Mesprit."

Lake Verity was the same as ever. Water crystal clear, shores clean, and trees overgrown. The tall grass rustled with the wind, and so did the ends of the black hoodie he wore. He had his hair gelled and slicked back, his normal hairstyle could easily distinguish him in this small town, and keeping face around his neighbors was hard enough. Throwing out a certain Pokeball, he let Floatzel take a dip, hoping it would help keep himself focused as not to end up zoning out again.

But his heart was still the same, and he felt the presence of another certain Pokemon circling him.

"Priiiiiiiii..."

He smiled softly. Ever since he and the others returned from the Distortion World, he had visited this lake more and more often, and he had always sat here in the shore, reminiscing his and Dia's childhood. It felt like it was just yesterday that they got lost here as kids.

"..." Now Dia was about to have one of his own.

"Pri?"

In soul form, the Emotion Pokemon's presence wasn't that strong, but her voice echoed throughout the land.

The water splashed from Floatzel's tail for emphasis.

Here, where his memories were never-ending, full of sappy childhood pictures in albums his parents had lined in the bookshelves of his bedroom. This lake and the town were the only backgrounds for their adventures as kids, and reminded of that, he promptly made a visit to Veilstone's department store to purchase one album. But this was not to join the many volumes at home.

"..." Plopping the empty book open, he sighs, another hand reaching out for his wallet. The leather was starring to peel off due to age and inside was an equally old but rather preserved photograph.

Quietly he remembered that day when they headed for the lake, it's entrance just in sight. In the picture his eyebrows were raised, questioning the lens of the camera his father had suddenly pulled out as he stood just behind him, the older blond grinning his immature grin with Chahiko perched on his head with an equally mischievous spark in his eyes. Dia had noticed quickly and waved, remnants of food around his mouth as he smiled, together with a certain Munchlax that raised his arms up, just about getting ready to wave, thankfully not causing a blur in the image. And then, there was Missy, innocently wondering what was going on and had just turned as they heard the click.

The nostalgia that hit him wasn't supposed to double the capacity of his heartbreak meter.

"Please continue to watch over them, and the kid as well." he smiled and took his hand out and felt something gently constrict it, like a tail. "I'm not strong enough to face them right now...if you could, convey these feelings of mine so I could understand them"

Silence. The wind continuing to howl and Zelhiko's head reemerged from underwater.

"...let her make a safe delivery, let both mother and child live." he muttered, hoping she would still hear. "And…let Dia control himself and try not to spoil the kid. Same with the Little Miss." He had to chuckle a bit there. The picture was pulled out of the leather casing that had been its frame for a decade. Smiling, he placed it into a random page, face down, so that the slightly yellowish paper would conceal the treasure of friendship hidden underneath.

"...you'll probably have a group of friends as crazy as we were." Chuckling, his amber orbs lit up slightly as he closed the leather bound book, its cover a passionate red, the only design was of the Berlitz crest on the spine, embroidered with orange thread. He had it personalized, together with a small dedication:

_'To P and D's Beloved'_

It was engraved inside of the back cover and Pearl frowned at himself for the double meaning. Perhaps they would find out, but it didn't matter anymore. The message was for both the mother and child. For he knew, that their child would end up also being his treasure. He would probably be an uncle to the babe, most likely a godfather, definitely a babysitter. Oh look, the third wheel already presuming himself as a role model.

A spurt was heard and he ducked just in time as his rebellious water type glared him down, his Water gun had missed

The grip on his hand tightened, then disappeared, leaving him to take a few steps closer to the water then kneeled and stared the weasel eye to eye. "Not funny. But thanks." smiling to himself, he tapped the Pokeball to return the growling Pokemon before gazing at his reflection. "From now on it's a one man act huh?" Tightening his fist, he punched at the surface of the water, his image rippling. "...Arceus it wouldn't be funny to hit myself."

The sun had started to go down, and he glared at the shadow of a man with his hair gelled back, finally realizing why his Pokemon bothered to shoot above his head. Chuckling, he stomped at the dark form of someone that he barely recognized and let his wet hand mess his prim and proper mass of hair straws, leaving it to look like a dewed yellow bird's nest under the now pulled up hood as he walked home, sending a brief wave of goodbye towards the island at the middle.

The photo album somehow felt lighter. Somehow, he wanted to hurry up and wrap it already. It would be years before it would be used, but he knew that from the start...things were better this way He might never tell Platinum, but that doesn't mean he'll stop looking out for her. In his own way, reminding himself of his place and of hers, the place right next to Diamond. From now on he would play his part; the bestfriend determined to keep things the way they should be.

This time, that determination should come in handy.

'Cause getting out of character would be as obvious as shit.

* * *

**Author's Note: After a string of events and tons of sad songs listened to piled on top of each other, _this _is what happens after inspiration. You can say that here Pearl is going through a period of his life where everything unexpected suddenly happens and he feels more than left out, I really wanted to portray more of Pearl's character even though it may have been OOC but hey, they're adults now, they can't always be children, and Pearl is the type of person to react strongly to the things around him, he gets angry when his friends are hurt and is strict and scolds them as well. But I wanted to show that even the most expressive people are hiding things and who better the dexholder than the one of the Sinnoh Trio that has the most willpower?**

**This story will probably have two or three more chapters. If you liked it or if you see some errors I've had while writing please don't hesitate to review!**

**~Leaf Silicon**


End file.
